In highlighting the response of the BBC to their recommendations on equal pay and other issues at the corporation, MPs have, in effect, signalled that any new IR35 materials from HMRC will extend beyond just broadcasting freelancers.

In the meantime, the BBC told the MPs that it is in “ongoing dialogue” with HMRC to resolve outstanding status issues and clarify arrangements for the creatives it engages who are affected by IR35, whom it acknowledged have suffered “uncertainty.”

“We have set up a confidential helpline and hardship fund and are working with those affected at an individual level and via the BBC’s recognised unions.”

The BBC also told the MPs: “We have also worked collaboratively with the unions, individuals and their representatives/agents to establish new sets of contract terms.”

Elsewhere in the report, the committee said it wants the BBC to publish the salaries of BBC Studios staff in its upcoming 2018/19 Annual Report, as well as those of high-earning presenters of other programmes made for the BBC by independent production companies.

Justifying their wish, the MPs said: “We do not accept the argument that publishing data from independent production companies would put the BBC at a competitive disadvantage.

“The BBC, as a publicly funded body, has a responsibility to lead on issues of pay and transparency. In any case, applying a transparent policy would help, not hinder, the BBC.”

The MPs added: “The BBC’s reputational strength is such that we do not believe that independent production companies would stop working with the corporation for this reason.”